Fine Structure Constant Variation from a Late Phase Transition

Recent experimental data indicates that the fine structure constant alpha may be varying on cosmological time scales. We consider the possibility that such a variation could be induced by a second order phase transition which occurs at late times (z ~ 1 - 3) and involves a change in the vacuum expectation value (vev) of a scalar with milli-eV mass. Such light scalars are natural in supersymmetric theories with low SUSY breaking scale. If the vev of this scalar contributes to masses of electrically charged fields, the low-energy value of alpha changes during the phase transition. The observational predictions of this scenario include isotope-dependent deviations from Newtonian gravity at sub-millimeter distances, and (if the phase transition is a sharp event on cosmological time scales) the presence of a well-defined step-like feature in the alpha(z) plot. The relation between the fractional changes in alpha and the QCD confinement scale is highly model dependent, and even in grand unified theories the change in alpha does not need to be accompanied by a large shift in nucleon masses.Comment: 9 pages. V2: discussion on the energy density stored in the scalar oscillations after the phase transition expanded. Typos corrected and Refs. added. Version to appear in PL

Chiral-logarithmic Corrections to the S and T Parameters in Higgsless Models

Recently, Higgsless models have proven to be viable alternatives to the Standard Model (SM) and supersymmetric models in describing the breaking of the electroweak symmetry. Whether extra-dimensional in nature or their deconstructed counterparts, the physical spectrum of these models typically consists of ``towers'' of massive vector gauge bosons which carry the same quantum numbers as the SM W and Z. In this paper, we calculate the one-loop, chiral-logarithmic corrections to the S and T parameters from the lightest (i.e. SM) and the next-to-lightest gauge bosons using a novel application of the Pinch Technique. We perform our calculation using generic Feynman rules with generic couplings such that our results can be applied to various models. To demonstrate how to use our results, we calculate the leading chiral-logarithmic corrections to the S and T parameters in the deconstructed three site Higgsless model. As we point out, however, our results are not exclusive to Higgsless models and may, in fact, be used to calculate the one-loop corrections from additional gauge bosons in models with fundamental (or composite) Higgs bosons.Comment: 45 pages, 15 figures, added references, analysis of three site model expanded to include delocalized fermion

Testing Gluino Spin with Three-Body Decays

We examine the possibility of distinguishing a supersymmetric gluino from a Kaluza-Klein gluon of universal extra dimensions (UED) at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We focus on the case when all kinematically allowed tree-level decays of this particle are 3-body decays into two jets and a massive daughter (typically weak gaugino or Kaluza-Klein weak gauge boson). We show that the shapes of the dijet invariant mass distributions differ significantly in the two models, as long as the mass of the decaying particle mA is substantially larger than the mass of the massive daughter mB. We present a simple analysis estimating the number of events needed to distinguish between the two models under idealized conditions. For example, for mA/mB=10, we find the required number of events to be of order several thousand, which should be available at the LHC within a few years. This conclusion is confirmed by a parton level Monte Carlo study which includes the effects of experimental cuts and the combinatoric background.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure

Indirect Detection of Little Higgs Dark Matter

Little Higgs models with T parity contain an attractive dark matter candidate, the heavy photon. We compute the cross section of the heavy photon annihilation into Z-photon pairs, which turns out to be substantially higher than the previously computed cross section for the two photon final state. Unfortunately, even with this enhancement, the monochromatic photon flux from galactic heavy photon annihilation is unlikely to be detectable by GLAST or the currently operating atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes. We also compute the flux of high-energy neutrinos from the annihilation of the heavy photons captured by the Sun and the Earth. The maximum flux of upward-going muons due to such neutrinos is about 1 yr^{-1}km^{-2}.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Top Quark Properties in Little Higgs Models

We study the shifts in the gauge couplings of the top quark induced in the Littlest Higgs model with and without T parity. We find that the ILC will be able to observe the shifts throughout the natural range of model parameters.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures. Contributed to 2005 International Linear Collider Physics and Detector Workshop and 2nd ILC Accelerator Workshop, Snowmass, Colorado, 14-27 Aug 200

Collider Signature of T-quarks

Little Higgs models with T Parity contain new vector-like fermions, the T-odd quarks or "T-quarks", which can be produced at hadron colliders with a QCD-strength cross section. Events with two acoplanar jets and large missing transverse energy provide a simple signature of T-quark production. We show that searches for this signature with the Tevatron Run II data can probe a significant part of the Little Higgs model parameter space not accessible to previous experiments, exploring T-quark masses up to about 400 GeV. This reach covers parts of the parameter space where the lightest T-odd particle can account for the observed dark matter relic abundance. We also comment on the prospects for this search at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Physics Case for the ILC Project: Perspective from Beyond the Standard Model

The International Linear Collider (ILC) has recently proven its technical maturity with the publication of a Technical Design Report, and there is a strong interest in Japan to host such a machine. We summarize key aspects of the Beyond the Standard Model physics case for the ILC in this contribution to the US High Energy Physics strategy process. On top of the strong guaranteed physics case in the detailed exploration of the recently discovered Higgs boson, the top quark and electroweak precision measurements, the ILC will offer unique opportunities which are complementary to the LHC program of the next decade. Many of these opportunities have connections to the Cosmic and Intensity Frontiers, which we comment on in detail. We illustrate the general picture with examples of how our world could turn out to be and what the ILC would contribute in these cases, with an emphasis on value-added beyond the LHC. These comprise examples from Supersymmetry including light Higgsinos, a comprehensive bottom-up coverage of NLSP-LSP combinations for slepton, squark, chargino and neutralino NLSP, a stau-coannihilation dark matter scenario and bilinear R-parity violation as explanation for neutrino masses and mixing, as well as generic WIMP searches and Little Higgs models as non-SUSY examples.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures. Contributed to Snowmass Community Summer Study 201